The Good Place Season 2 Episode 13 Review: Somewhere Else
Danica Leninsky
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In yet another jaw-dropping season finale, The Good Place Season 2 Episode 13 sends the four humans back to Earth to see if they could have become better people while they were still alive.
Before being sent back to Earth, however, Chidi finally recognizes his feelings for Eleanor.
In typical Good Place fashion, two moments that been a season or more in the works pass so quickly there's barely any time to process before everything changes again.
Janet professes her love for Jason, and he says he loves her too. Chidi kisses Eleanor, but the two barely have a chance to exchange any words before Michael and Judge Gen announce their plan.
Although I found myself wishing for more time to enjoy seeing Eleanor and Chidi happy together, the scene was fitting.
The spur of the moment kiss, more than anything else in the season, shows how much Chidi has grown. He had an epiphany as he watched Janet and Jason, and he made a decision so quickly I got whiplash.
He may still struggle with inane decisions, like which color hat to choose, but when it counts, Chidi knows what he wants.
Eleanor and Tahani share their own sweet moment after Tahani tells Eleanor how she stood up to her parents during Judge Gen's test.
Eleanor praises Tahani, who credits their friendship with any progress she's made. Eleanor and Tahani's bond hasn't been as evident this season as it was in The Good Place Season 1, so this moment was a nice surprise.
Whatever progress I have made, it’s because you and I have become mates.
Tahani
After Michael convinces Judge Gen to send the humans back to Earth, we catch a glimpse at how quickly Eleanor manages to transition from being a horrible person to becoming someone who cares about the world around her.
She is similar to how she is in the afterlife, but she becomes world-weary as she realizes she isn't having as big an impact as she thought she would.
People ignore her when she tries to talk to them about the environment, and her honesty about hitting someone's car lands her in the middle of a lawsuit.
One of the highlights of the episode comes as Michael visits Earth in the form of a bartender. In a callback to Ted Danson's years of playing Sam Malone on Cheers, Michael gives Eleanor advice as he prepares drinks.
In a push to steer Eleanor in the right direction, he references What We Owe to Each Other, a book discussed in Season 1.
Eleanor: I gotta go home. What do I owe you?
Michael: The real question, Eleanor, is what do we owe to each other?
When Eleanor wakes up the next morning and googles the phrase, she finds a lecture by Chidi and ends up watching all three hours of it.
Chidi argues a particularly resonant point: we do good things because of our bonds with other people. These bonds are what Eleanor is missing in her life.
So, why do it then? Why choose to be good, every day, if there is no guaranteed reward we can count on, now or in the afterlife? I argue that we choose to be good because of our bonds with other people and our innate desire to treat them with dignity. Simply put, we are not in this alone.
Chidi
During her six month stint of goodness, she did good deeds, but she had no real connections with anyone. She seemed engaged with the environmental organization, but still surrounded herself with the toxic friends who fit so well into her old lifestyle.
She flies to Australia to find Chidi not just to learn from him, but because she seems to feel a connection to him as she watches his lecture.
We are left with the obvious question: what's next? Eleanor and Chidi are reunited, but without being two of four humans stuck with each other for eternity, there's nothing keeping them together.
We haven't seen how Tahani and Jason are doing, but I'm guessing they'll need their own pushes from Michael.
Will next season take place on Earth? While that arc has potential, it would be disappointing to lose the regular interaction the humans have with Michael and Janet.
There are too many unknowns to count, but The Good Place is a show that thrives on uncertainty. If The Good Place Season 3 picks up on Earth and the humans have to meet and get to know each other all over again, so be it.
This concept should have soured by now, after the constant reboots at the beginning of The Good Place Season 2, but in a new setting with arguably higher stakes, it's bound to be interesting.
If nothing else, at least Jason will have the chance to learn how close the Jacksonville Jaguars were to making it to the Super Bowl this year.
What did you think of this episode, and what do you think the next season has in store? Watch The Good Place online and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Danica Leninsky was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in April of 2018.
